Puppeteers Never Prosper
by Fear-Fades-Hope-Lives-4Eva
Summary: Kagome hates puppeteers and their puppets. Absolute control of another without their trust or consent. It was disgusting. Makes her glad she didn't disregard the yells. (Tags just under summary in story.)


Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter or Kagome from Inuyasha nor do I intend to profit off them in any way.

Note: I blame MizukixTsukiyomi, Fenrae-l, and YoursAlways (as well as dedicate this to them) for having me watch Hunter x Hunter. I am absolutely in love with Kite, Illumi, Hisoka, Kurapika, and Chrollo. As adorable as Gon and Killua are, I have _no intention of touching them until I see some yummy art of them as fully grown, consenting adults._ The Chimera Arc is the worst arc I have ever witnessed in any anime, _**EVER**_. Thus, the reason why I created this.

All the thanks to Lady Milk Tea, MizukixTsukiyomi, Fenrae-l, and YoursAlways for reading through this for me and helping with any plotholes or grammar mistakes! Love you, ladies!

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Summary: Kagome hates puppeteers and their puppets. Absolute control of another without their trust or consent. It was disgusting. Makes her glad she didn't disregard the yells.

Warnings: Character Death, Detailed injuries, Gore, Blood, nudity.

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~Begin~

.

' _n!"_

' _n!'_

'— _lua!'_

' _Gon! Killua! Run!'_

Her head jerked up, noodles falling back into the bowl of udon she'd ordered.

There was a voice calling out.

Kagome slowly set her chopsticks down, attention already on the world outside the window of the restaurant. Perspiration from the rain clung to the glass, warping the reflections of the workers and other customers around her. Even through the rain, over the din of the patrons, the whistling howl of the wind, she could still hear it clearly. She drummed her nails against the table, frowning, as she watched some of the people run past or take refuge under awnings.

A soul.

There was too much of an echo for it to be anything else.

And not enough _personality_ , per se, for it to be a desperate plea through an open mind link.

Teeth digging into her bottom lip, she pulled out some cash to lay on the table before heading outside, hissing at the cold gust of air that slipped underneath her clothes. She stepped to the side, pulling the jacket around her tighter, tucking her scarf in over her mouth and nose before she hunkered down and ran across the street once it was safe. It wouldn't protect her for long, not with it being a simple windbreaker, so hopefully whoever this soul was wouldn't make things complicated while this storm was raging. The storm itself was fairly tame, mostly strong winds, but it would maybe last a few more hours.

For a second, as she weaved around other passersby, the idiocy of what she was doing crossed her mind, still too new to this world but then she dismissed it. She'd time traveled, survived a war; world/reality jumping was just a more permanent version of that. Mourning had come, of course, then rage and denial. But once she stopped wallowing, she learned and with it came ideas and possibilities of how to get back with the hope that it wouldn't be too late.

She slowed her pace, readjusted her scarf to allow for more breathing room, then focused back on what she had interrupted her own dinner for. Her aura rose inside her, as easy and willing as it had been once she got the rest of her soul back. All it took was a small push after that, to let it rise from her skin, but she directed it towards the ground rather than the air, letting it spread freely but carefully. The people of this world were proficient with aura, in terrifying ways. It had only taken one incident for her to become wary about unleashing her power so callously. She had not expected a man with a numbered spider on his hand to hunt her down and then become so interested in her eyes. What he had intended for them was even more terrifying.

He used puppets. One was even his sister. The horror of it still made her nauseous and she shook her head to clear it, reminding herself that she had killed him, knowing that it was her own experiences that had made it much worse.

Her throat worked a few times before her stomach settled and she came to a stop at an intersection to hone in on her aura as it spread along the earth, inches below everyone's feet.

Cobblestone and brick grew fuzzy before her eyes, heart steadying to a calmer, deeper tempo she could feel throughout her body. People all around her, moving and talking and pushing against the wind quieted and molded together until they were all mass, twisting, indistinct shapes. The more she focused on the paths her power was taking, spreading until each edge met up into a large, underground circle, the less her eyes could make out the reality of the world.

Instead, light bloomed around her, blinking in and out, growing and flexing, all different shapes and sizes. Energy of the soul, of the body, of pure will and determination and whatever drove a person to live. The farther her power went, the more people paused, but no other move was made. It was only, she assumed, because there was no sinister feel to it that held them off for now.

Her pulse beat in her ears, loud like a drum but firm and she released a slow breath, one foot stepping forward before the other followed until she was steadily making her way through the city. Muscle memory kept her body safe as she slipped further away, the sounds all around her going quiet until it was only the echoing voice - _deepsmoothangrydefeateddesperate_ \- that she could make out.

Whoever it was, they were quite the distance from where she had been eating. Even her room, bought at one of the city's entrances in that direction, was still a ways away.

Eyelids going half-mast, head tipping to the side, she vaguely registered the wet feeling of water striking her skin when some of the people who had noticed her aura finally made a move. Heading towards the restaurant and the starting point where her aura had fist expanded. She ignored the brief disturbance. Regardless of who they were, they wouldn't be able to track her now that she'd spread her power along such a wide radius. It would take too much time for them to search.

The next breath she noticed that fell past her lips chilled her cheeks and she blinked, hands reaching out ahead of her as her feet came to a stop. Slowly, her consciousness returned to her.

Pine needles.

A branch of pine needles perched directly in front of her, just inches from her face. She jerked back with a bitten off yell.

It was still raining, though the tree she stood under kept all but some drops from hitting her. Her breath misted around her head, scarf hanging sopping wet on her neck and she was suddenly acutely aware of how cold she was, fingers numb as she jammed them into her pockets and teeth chattering as she looked around her. She was in a forest, obviously, but the wind had died down considerably, barely even a breeze. The voice was still there, a clicking noise following it and a... second voice. Much higher pitched and very annoying.

Narrowing her eyes, she tried to listen in a little better.

It kept talking about rolling an important number.

And…

—was it gathering power?

Or was that the other faint feeling she was getting?

What in the world kind of soul had she decided to come see?

Kagome picked her way through the bushes, sniffling, until she stumbled from the treeline. Right into a puddle big enough to sit just under her knees. Blankly, she stared at the muddy water before wading out of the puddle with a despondent sigh. Just ahead of her sat a large building, built larger than some of the places in town. ' _Though,'_ she mused with a tilt of her head, ' _it kind of looks like a weird version of those western castles I remember reading about.'_

She pushed her hair back. Regardless of how it looked, the two voices _were_ coming from there. The only odd thing she found was that there was no one else around. If a soul was lingering with _this_ much power, there should have been doctors or loved ones around to keep an eye on the deteriorating body.

The door was unlocked, too, foyer empty. Stale air hung around the place, like old paper, and when she tried the lights, they flickered briefly before lighting up the place. She pushed the door shut and peeled off her shoes and socks, eyes catching on a stack of suitcases that sat just in the living room. A few of them were open, clothes spilling out all around them.

A quick, guilty glance around and she padded over, blinking in surprise when she saw how small they were. Children's clothes and— there was aura clinging to them. Now that she was paying attention, all of the suitcases seemed to have it. She checked each one, sighing loudly in relief at finding one of them had women's sized clothes.

Once upon a time, her morals would have objected, but after all these years, the only guilt she felt was the little bite to her lip before she grabbed a dress that looked like it would fit and went in search for a bathroom. Her clothes and undergarments she hung up to dry on the shower rod and her bag she emptied of everything but her medical supplies, was slung over her shoulder. She wrung her hair over the sink then pulled it up into a bun.

 _Then_ she went to find the soul and the other voice.

Except, when she flared her aura out… they weren't actually in the house.

Not the upstairs bedrooms or bathrooms, nor downstairs in the kitchen, the parlor, or the pantry. Hell, she even tried the mud room.

Kagome turned to the back door, glaring at it with all the contempt she could muster, toes burning as she curled the frozen digits against the carpet. What in the heck was a powerful soul like that doing _outside_ when its body was going through such a difficult time? But she still couldn't feel anyone else around which—

Her power barely needed the pull from her to settle into the soil, the excess running through the plants and the dirt to pool underneath her feet and reintegrate itself back into her body.

She grumbled the whole way to the door, peering around to see if there was an umbrella. There hadn't been one up front, and if these two souls were outside then that meant she had to go back outside in that weather. "Maa, there isn't one. Now I have to get wet all over again and these aren't even my clothes!" Kagome huffed, gathering up the dress's skirt before stepping outside. While she'd been distracted, the rain had lightened to a drizzle, a mist sitting along the ground, chilling her all over again as she made her way towards the back, towards a smaller building sitting against the treeline.

It kind of reminded her of a mausoleum. She frowned. Maybe the soul had already left the body… but that didn't explain the annoying voice or the dark intent she was feeling.

A courtyard sat in front of it, striking in its similarities to her shrine grounds, but broken down and eroding. Moss covered most of one of the paths leading to the forest, cobblestone haphazardly placed everywhere. Past the gates, she could see a large door, old in style with thick wood and a circular iron door handle. It was roughened with rust, scraping against the skin of her palm as she used it as a handhold, shoulder pushing against the aged wood to open it. It swung wide, easier and faster than she anticipated, leaving her sprawled out on the floor and she smacked her head in her stupidity. Hefting herself back up, she grimaced at how the clothes she found clung to her in odd places. She picked at them with a pout.

' _I underestimated her! She's too strong but I can't let her get Gon and Killua!'_

Kagome paused, straightening, the slap of the dress against her skin going ignored. A battle, then. And this person had been protecting two people. Family? Friends? She thought back to the suitcases and the child-sized clothes. This person's children? Her wet feet muddied the warmed stone as she made her way down the stairs. She took in the candles that were lit in the sconces, the amount of wax that sat at each base, some even having dribbled through the ornamental brackets. How long had they been keeping this place lit even though no one was here?

Her gasp met her ears before she even realized it left her throat, eyes wide as she stared at the body that lay in the middle of the room. It wasn't the scars or even the motionless splay it was laid in but the massive clown that hovered over it. Visible strings connected the fingers and the limbs, a fearsome smile on its painted face.

What—

—in the world was with people and god _damn puppets_!?

Lips curling back in her disgust, her aura spilled out of her and shot forward to cut the strings then tear into the clown's body. Each tendril connected and wrapped around until its arms and body were immobilized.

She ripped it apart in a breath's time, eyes bright.

Trembling in her rage, Kagome took a few deep breaths until her pulse evened out.

Her feet moved by the time her sight was set back on the body, knees digging into the rough stone as she turned it over. The jagged scars decorated the face all the way down to where the pants started and there was no doubt they were all over the legs, too. With an uncomfortable wince, Kagome unbuttoned the jeans, dragged down the zipper, and carefully pulled them off along with the boxers, taking the socks and shoes as well. She would need an unobstructed view if she was going to redo and then heal all the damage.

One quick search of the room later had her finding an old, raggedy blanket that she dragged the body on.

A barrier materialized in layers after, a half dome around her and the body, a square just smaller than the room, simple walls along the stairs and out until the last one — big enough to encompass the entire yard —came together to hide away any existence anything had ever been in the clearing at all.

Her bag fell with a thump and she dug through it to find the four bottles of water and one of the first aid kits she kept on hand. Washing all the exposed skin down would be the most important thing right now, she didn't need an infection to start up while she was breaking and fixing everything.

' _Underestimated her.'_

The bottle jerked under her hand, spilling too much onto the rag and she hastily set it aside, and looked over her shoulder. There, just past the bars, she could see its glow. Breathing carefully, she sat down all the way and tried calling him to her.

This was one of the few things she hadn't been able to touch on training-wise in her world and she doubted it was something people wanted to really touch up on here. It wasn't a surprise when it didn't work. She knew it wouldn't the first time but the disappointment still sat heavily in her gut.

She tried it again.

The second voice, the annoying one, spoke up again about picking the number and its power spiked.

Unease slithered up her back, wrapping around her neck and arms, and she took a shaky breath, held it until her chest ached then let it go with an exhale, her power reaching out alongside her call.

The soul moved, just a little, towards her.

It was all Kagome needed to hold out a hand, imploring with him silently and letting him feel through the scarred parts of her own soul how desperately she wanted to help.

The other voice quieted and the power dimmed, subdued as the soul settled just over her palm.

 _He_ was warm but hurt, confused, regretful. She slid her thumbs along the very edges of him until he calmed then settled him on her left shoulder so she could get back to his body.

His hair, she pulled up so it laid along the floor, using pins to keep his bangs back then she wiped the rest of him down, carefully thinking of what she intended to do here and _not_ about the size of _any_ of him.

The easiest to start with would be his feet, her fingers sliding along the calluses that had built along the way, bone shifting and muscles loose before they glided to where the first surgical scar was done. Jagged and rough, the skin was still raised so about a month old, maybe longer. Whoever performed the procedure did a shoddy job, too. Kagome pooled her aura into her arms, the pads of her fingers glowing, and started to look at the actual damage she could feel.

None of the bone had healed right, too off-center, and the veins were so shot she was surprised there was any blood flow at all. It wouldn't take— she grunted in surprise, blinking down at the broken foot. It… that had snapped way too easily.

She pushed that aside and worked on resetting it while using her other hand to pour more aura into his body to focus on the organs and the veins while she took care of the bones. It took less and more work than she was expecting as she broke his ankle next.

Once she hit the knee, she paused to grab a scalpel and her last bottle of sterile iodine solution from her bag to clean each area and cut into all the skin to pull out the fragments and any scar tissue. Those bits she just threw off to the side without a second glance, ignoring the blood that was dripping onto the blanket. While her power was moving around inside him, healing, it also worked as a barrier of sorts to keep any of the healthy bits from falling where they shouldn't, and it would slow the blood flow until she could close up the wound. Within a time limit, of course.

Kagome turned so she was settled between his legs and started on the other leg, settling into the routine. She would need to do both kneecaps at the same time, for how difficult they were. Once she was ready, she rolled up onto her knees and moved backwards until she was straddling his waist. Scalpel wiped down and sanitized, she cut under the caps.

The bone had healed better here, didn't need a rebreak to fix it, so she turned towards the veins and ligaments instead. Surprisingly, the anterior cruciate ligament was in pretty good condition, apart from how it was placed, which meant she needn't have worried about that part of his body at all. To be sure, she closed her eyes and focused on the sight of her aura wrapping around his skeletal structure.

' _Hmm…'_

The person responsible for healing him had started off shoddy but, besides the scars, the further up the body she went, the less damage there was. She tossed a look over her shoulder and frowned at his face. Except for that part, anyway.

With the knowledge that invasive surgery could mostly, hopefully, be avoided, she crawled off him and moved onto healing all the surgical scars.

He had a pretty face, nice cut jaw, with narrow cheeks and a straight slope nose. His brows weren't as bushy as some she's seen and nicely trimmed though they were invisible compared to the way his eyes were set. She held back her grimace, hands cupping his head to tilt his face up more. Her thumbs sat at the edges of his eyes, waiting for her aura to entirely blanket his nervous system before she pushed and prodded at the edges until his eyes were properly settled. The scars were next and healed within seconds.

She sat back with a sigh, taking stock of the sharp pains that was starting to race up from her knees after kneeling for so long. Still, she grabbed her water bottle and another rag to wipe him down, tilting him to the side to fold the blanket over the wet, bloody spots and tugging any excess to hide his junk. Then she wiped off what blood she could get at with the few bits of clean edges left on the rag.

Her power was made to converge over his heart and along his brain stem to start up a steady beat until they were stimulated enough to act on their own. On her shoulder, he started pulsating, a hum of vibration as she cupped her hands around him, settling him over his body's chest cavity and pushed him back in.

A hush settled over them, ears picking up the consistent drip of water coming from somewhere. Perspiration and sweat slicked the skin under her hands, leaving her no choice but to dig her nails in to keep from sliding. Physical contact was required during this part of the process and she couldn't afford to make a mistake, heart pounding in her ears and she breathed out shakily.

He shot up off the floor, gasping, hands grasping for air until they caught her arms. She fell back with a yell, his weight knocking the air out of her and she wheezed while he trembled in her arms. She grimaced through the pain but left him there.

"G-g-K—" His voice was raspy from disuse and probably dehydration, breaking up each time he tried to say anything. She pulled her wrist from his grip and cupped his nape, letting the residual aura still in him cover his larynx and soothe the ache there. It helped, she could tell from the softened edges of his rapid breaths, but he also needed to wet it so—

He fell into her lap when she sat up, his weight bearing more resistance than any will he might have, and she stretched to grasp a water bottle. Kagome maneuvered him until his upper body was twisted onto his back, hips and legs still curled on the side, head pillowed on her stomach, shoulders on her legs, and slowly fed him water. The position made it easy, his chest steadily slowing as he drank. His eyes barely fluttered under closed lids, which was to be expected. Even with her healing, his body was still straining to work properly and would need a good half a day or more to get in a good place.

Already, water was spilling over his mouth as his throat slowly stopped bobbing and before she knew it, Kagome had her lap full of a naked, unconscious man.

Her loud sigh echoed off the walls and she let up on the barriers she'd forgotten were up, the shimmering glow fading away and leaving the flickering light of the candles. She'd wanted to talk to him a little, even if it was _just_ to learn his name. Still… he'd stayed conscious long enough to drink something. It was better than nothing.

With a bit of stretching, she managed to strain herself long enough to grasp a corner of the blanket and pull it over him. Corner still securely tucked into her palm, she pulled an arm over her shoulder and hauled him up so he was hanging against her side then made her way out. She'd worry about his clothes and her stuff later, balance wavering as she kicked open the door and nearly shouting at the sight of no rain. She bit it back with a smile and continued dragging him back to the house.

Right now, all she wanted to do was get him inside, settled in one of the beds, and pass out for a few hours.

And she did, back sore, legs throbbing, and sweat coating her body as she threw as much of his body weight onto the bed as she could. Kagome pushed him the rest of the way up, tossed the dirty blanket on the floor, untucked the clean ones to throw over him, then stumbled her way back out the room.

She jerkily walked down the stairs, shut the back door then collapsed against the nearest horizontal surface, ergo, the couch and passed out.

She woke up stiff and sore just as the sun was setting, the last of its rays spilling into the living room, an offset to the light she had left on. There'd be no point turning it off now so she just rolled off the couch and stretched, groaning as her body popped and ambled into the bathroom. Her clothes were dry now but still covered in dirt and she bit her lip, juggling with the idea of washing them when she remembered that the man's clothes still needed to be washed, too.

Kagome jerked them off the shower rod and left them in a heap on top of the washer while she ran back out to the mausoleum to grab his clothes and shoes. The door was slightly ajar, water puddled all the way to the first step, spilling over as she made her way down. "Oh!" She gasped, startled at the sight of her things down there as well. She'd forgotten they'd been left behind and began gathering the bottles up to throw haphazardly in her bag, his stuff just barely fitting on top. The rags were still a bit damp as she used them to pick up all the tissue she'd cut away. There wasn't anything she could really do about the dried blood all over the stone floor, which was unfortunate, but she could always look through the kitchen or a bathroom to see if there were any chemicals that could scrub it out.

She made sure to shut the door behind her this time but didn't head inside right away, jogging over to the treeline to dump the rags. It wouldn't do anyone any good to take it inside to stink up the place. They would have to be washed separately, too, just because of the blood that was coating them. A weary sigh left her once she stepped inside, scraping her muddied feet on the metal strip threshold before she shut the door and headed back to the laundry room. As she began to throw them in the washer, Kagome noted that his clothes had only _looked_ cleaner than hers when she was stripping him last night. Blood had seeped into the seams, alongside the dirt and who knew what else he'd gotten mixed up in to put his body in that condition. The detergent she found in the cupboard, half full with another bottle behind it.

"So they were gonna be here long enough to need more detergent but not long enough to really get settled, hm?" She muttered, finishing up and setting the shoes down next to the washer, rags getting thrown into the sink with some cold water and ammonia.

On her way upstairs, she left her bag hanging on a hook next to the door. She'd worry about her supplies and stuff later. What she needed to do that she'd been avoiding — if she was being honest — was check up on how the man was faring. The door to the room she'd left him in was still closed, which told her nothing so all she had to go on was the steady feel of his aura.

He'd rolled up into a ball at some point, tucked in under the covers, a stray hand and his hair the only thing visible as it spilled over the edge. Her shoulders slumped, the beginnings of hope for him swimming around inside her while she reached down to bundle up his hair and lay it along a pillow. The grip he had on the blanket came loose easily enough, revealing his resting face and some of the bruising she'd expected to see.

"You, sir, are an incredibly lucky man since I was nearby but also _unlucky_ to have needed me this way." She whispered, pushing him to lay on his back. His breathing was still a little too slow for her tastes but when she checked him with her aura, the lungs were working just fine. The strain was most likely still too much on him but without an IV drip, it would have to make do until he was rested enough to do more than stir here and there. His soul was also settling back into place pretty quickly.

Would he remember being dead? Had he even realized he was dead? His pleas had said otherwise. Kagome gathered his hair close, brushing as many of the tangles out as she could with her fingers. The color was painful to look at, she'd admit, but her heart tended to hurt more these days over anyone who looked like her family rather than a brief crush she'd had when she was 15.

Her stomach contracted forcefully, a loud gurgling noise following it. She touched it, grimacing but got up to go back downstairs and get a good look at what was in the kitchen.

Not much that could be put together for a meal. Some boxes of instant meals and cans of vegetables in the cupboards, a few trays of ice and two tubs of ice cream in the freezer, milk, butter, and eggs in the fridge.

For now, once she rifled through everything for a pan, she just whipped up some scrambled eggs.

While she ate, she mulled over what to do now. It would be preferable to stick around until he was fully cognizant but if the people who owned this place came back, there was no telling what would happen. For all she knew, those people are the ones who left that man in that condition. She could have thrown herself into some crazy murder attempt where people liked to play with dead bodies and—

Kagome cut her own train of thought off with a snort and got up to clean her plate. "Looks like I still need more sleep."

She did one quick check into the laundry room, saw that the washer was done and switched them over to the dryer then went back upstairs. There was a bathroom just next to this room and the tub seemed to be based off a hot tub, so she fiddled with the faucet until she got it at a good temperature then left it to fill up. Even though she'd wiped him down, he wasn't really clean, and his hair was a mess and she didn't feel comfortable leaving him like this. Pulling the blankets back, she tugged him towards the edge before thrown an arm over her shoulder and hauling him up against her side.

Now that she wasn't so tired, he wasn't so heavy, and it was no time at all before she was nudging - as gently as one could an unconscious person - him into the tub. It had filled up halfway by this point, so she turned it off. She'd get most of the mess she'd missed the first time around off right now then refill the tub and give him a thorough soak. A few extra towels were fetched to cushion his neck.

Grabbing the nearby bottle of soap and a washcloth, she hummed as she started cleaning him. His breathing stayed even, and she kept her attention on that the closer she got to his inner thighs then moved on with a sigh.

The water was a murky brown by the time she finished with his arms and she drained it, flipping the faucet back on. As it swirled down the drain, she gave him another cursory wipe down before crawling up onto the rim of the tub and swinging her legs under the spray of water, cleaning off the mud she'd had caked on her for the last day then scooting to sit behind him. She tucked her heels up under his arms then slowly leaned him forward until he was close enough she could comfortably wash his hair.

Still a little difficult, though, with his long hair.

Her feet slipped a few times and she fell half in once keeping him from hitting his head but, finally, he was completely clean. She bundled him up and half-carried him back to the bed, toweling him dry and tucking him back under the covers. A towel was left on top of the pillow, his hair splayed out while she headed back downstairs to take care of the clothes.

She threw herself in the shower, afterwards, and switched out the dress for her clothes. Instead of passing out on the couch again, she set up a little spot for herself next to him.

Kagome fell asleep with her hand on his wrist, aura flowing through him, ready for any complications.

—-

Should she stay?

Kagome wondered that as she sat outside, breath clouding the early morning air and tucked her legs in tighter, cheek pillowed on her knee. The sun hadn't quite risen yet, sky still decorated in the soft glow of its rays and mist scattered through the grounds. As cool as her skin was, it felt better than being inside. She hadn't stuck around in a place with another person this long in months and the last time she had, it was because Yorknew had been under attack by some crazy powerful group or something.

It was also the last time she had put so much faith in any leads that could get her back home.

She closed her eyes, feeling that familiar ache spread from her chest and took a deep breath to steady herself. Crying couldn't keep being the first thing she turned to when she decided to give a moment's thought to her predicament. The best she could do now was what she had been doing for a while now; healing people or just helping them. There were a few times she worked as a Security Guard or an Escort but they were more restrictive and they wanted too much out of her about her personal life that she wasn't willing to give.

This wasn't a job or even a charity case. It had just been her indulging in her curiosity over someone else's desperation. And if she wasn't careful, it could end up leading her into something she wouldn't like.

Which brought her back to the question… should she stay?

The man was stable now. His pulse, his soul, everything was fine. There was no obligation to stick around and see if he woke up or to make sure he was mentally stable.

But then… the Kurta didn't have any obligation to save her when they stumbled on her unconscious body near their village.

It had been just over five years since that day and she'd spent it traveling wherever she could without a Hunter's License. There was too cruel of a chance that she could end up disappearing right after integrating herself completely.

Sighing, she picked herself up off the ground and went back inside, kicking off her shoes before she padded back upstairs.

He'd shifted sometime while she was outside, blanket bunched around his ankles, butt on full display for her. A flush worked from her neck to her chest, spreading up into her cheeks as she caught herself really taking it in and hastily averted her eyes. She had no right to ogle this man.

His face scrunched up, brows furrowing and mouth going pinched when she threw the blanket over him again, so she pressed her wrist to his forehead. He was a little warm. With a sigh, she went out to look for a sheet she could cover him with. Besides preserving his dignity, it would also work at cooling him down then maybe he'd grab for the blanket again.

She watched, with an unimpressed look, as he shivered then climbed in next to him.

 _'Well,'_ Kagome thought, snuggling up under the blankets. _'Guess I'm still not that cold-hearted yet.'_

 _._

End~

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Note: There is a high possibility there will be a second half to this. It's just getting the words written out now that this second job (grave, too, which makes it harder) is taking up the free time I used to have. (I am literally doing this at work at my day job right now, haha.)

Share your thoughts and thanks for stopping by~


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